Joe Dennis
Organiser
Happy new year to everyone, I hope you all had a restful break over Christmas and New Year’s. 2019 will be a huge year with the upcoming Enterprise Agreement (EA) negotiations for the public transport major operators Metro, V/Line, Yarra Trams and many more smaller companies where we have members. Meetings are being planned for members and Delegates to attend so please make every effort to come along and put your ideas on the table when these meetings occur.
So far this year I have been approached by members from NSW Trainlink, who work out of Southern Cross station. These members have had their classifications changed and as a result their pay rates reduced. Many members have been working on a casual basis and are too scared to approach anyone to ask for a more permanent position as they are employed by an agency and not employed by NSW Trainlink directly.
I am currently in discussions with McArthur and will try and get to the bottom of these issues.
On an unrelated note, I have also received a number of emails and phone calls in relation to the “personal time” that staff have access to at the Probe (PTV) call centre. Staff are being monitored when they step away from their phones for longer than 2 minutes and 40 seconds. Yes, you read that correctly, 2 minutes and 40 seconds.
Staff members are going to the toilet and managers are alerted to them being away for longer than 2 minutes and 40 seconds and will then go looking for the member. This is causing staff to feel bullied and stressed for simply needing to go to the toilet. Managers feel they are doing nothing wrong and only conducting a “welfare check” but after a couple of minutes, they have got to be joking!
I have also spoken to members at Transclean regarding concern about their Category three medicals that have come up for renewal. Transclean have informed members they are to pay for the medicals (approx. $300 – 400) as it is a condition of their employment, however nothing was given to them and nothing signed relating to payment.
After negotiation, Transclean have come to the table and agreed to pay for the medicals for the staff at Southern Cross. I would say that Transclean will be amending the contracts of employment to include that staff are to pay in the future. Before anyone signs the “new” contract of employment please come and see me.
See you all in 2019.
